Gerard Murphy
Ceist:22 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the timescale for Russia's accession to the common European economic space. [26788/03]
Vol. 574 No. 3
22 Mr. Murphy asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the timescale for Russia's accession to the common European economic space. [26788/03]
25 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the fact that there is evidence of widespread denial of human rights in the Russian Federation; and the steps which have been taken either bilaterally or through the European Union to raise these issues with the Russian authorities and in particular at the EU - Russian Summit on 6 November 2003. [26627/03]
48 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the matters discussed and conclusions reached at the recent EU-Russian Federation summit; if the question of human rights within Russia was raised at the summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26724/03]
69 Mr. Coveney asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position regarding current and ongoing discussions between the EU and Russian Federation regarding the movement of goods and peoples between the Russian Federation mainland and Kaliningrad. [26790/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 22, 25, 48 and 69 together.
The 12th EU-Russia summit took place in Rome on 6 November 2003. The European Union was represented in Presidency Troika format – that is, by the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Berlusconi, the Secretary General-High Representative, Mr. Solana, and the President of the European Commission, Mr. Prodi. President Putin represented the Russian Federation. The agenda consisted of five items: EU-Russia relations; building the four spaces; developments in Russia; developments in the EU and international issues.
The summit specifically sought to make progress on the four spaces between the EU and Russia which were agreed at the St. Petersburg summit on 31 May 2003 – common economic space, space of external security, space of internal security, and education and culture. The summit agreed to intensify and focus efforts to fulfil the decision to create these common spaces. It also endorsed the work to date of the high level group on the common European economic space and agreed to continue this work, taking full account of the recommendations of the HLG report with a view to achieving tangible results as soon as possible.
The summit also reaffirmed the joint commitment of the EU and Russia to implement, as soon as possible and in full, the package on Kaliningrad agreed in November 2002, including the launch of a high-speed train feasibility study before the end of 2003. The summit noted both the success of EU-Russia co-operation in the facilitation of the transit of Russian citizens and positive developments in the field of customs co-operation. The summit also took note of the fourth progress report on the energy dialogue.